White Chicks actor and comedian Marlon Wayans had charges dropped against him after he claimed he was unfairly targeted because of his race during a June disagreement with a United Airlines employee.
The actor was denied boarding in June after he attempted to carry too many things on board the aircraft, according to an airline employee. Wayans was then issued a citation for a municipal offense related to maintaining order.
In a report by Business Insider, Wayans's lawyers claimed in court documents filed on Thursday, October 19, that racial profiling played a part in the actor being denied boarding. The next day, the prosecution filed a motion to drop the charges.
Denver's district attorney has requested the dismissal of the case due to the allegations of racial profiling. The court agreed with the prosecution, according to his lawyer, David M. Beller, in a statement to CBS News.
"The City Of Denver finally did what United Airlines has been asking - dismiss this case ... Our community does not need one more innocent Black man wrongfully accused and wrongfully convicted. I hope this inspires everyone to be more aware of their own implicit and explicit bias."
What Was the Gate Dispute About?
The United Airlines gate agent allegedly denied his request to board the trip to Kansas City because he had three pieces of checked luggage. Wayans was denied boarding despite complying with airline rules by splitting his belongings into two bags, the lawsuit claims. He got on the aircraft nonetheless, but then he was kicked off just before takeoff.
According to the lawsuit petition, which contained still photographs of security footage showing white individuals with three bags and yellow arrows indicating to each bag, the gate agent continued letting customers with three bags to board the aircraft as Wayans struggled to reorganize his baggage. Reportedly, there were around 140 passengers on the aircraft, and several of them had many big bags with them.
After the encounter, Wayans vented his grievances on Instagram, many of which were echoed in the legal document.
"This agent was clearly picking on me. He asked me to consolidate my bags, and I complied. Then said now I have to check the bag because now since I consolidated it into one bag, it was too big," he stated in one of his posts about the incident.
At the time, Wayans also requested that disciplinary action be taken against the "rude and wrong" worker. In the end, Wayans took an American Airlines trip to his destination.
Wayans' attorneys claim the gate agent's treatment of their client was motivated by racism and that by pressing charges against Wayans, Denver prosecutors are enabling this behavior and violating their client's entitlement to equal protection under the law.
